This post has been sponsored by the DINTY MOORE® Brand. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Camping with kids can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a LOT of work. Especially when you think about all the food that you have to pack and make in order to get there.

I learned a long time ago that getting the kids involved in the cooking process helps relieve me of some of the work AND it’s actually fun for all of us! We find that when we eat together around the campfire, we come away with more fun memories to hang on to and to talk about in the future.

We’ll say things like, “Remember when dad cooked that can of DINTY MOORE® Beef Stew over the campfire without using a pan”? And then we all get a good laugh of how fun that was, eating that hot Beef Stew, right from the can!

Today, I have several fun ideas of how YOU can get your kids helping out when it comes to eating supper around the campfire!

DINTY MOORE® Beef Stew & Italian Bread – This is one of those meals that we almost always make while we’re camping, because it’s the least amount of work compared to all of the our other options below. Plus, it has real meat, potatoes and vegetables. We have a cast iron dutch oven and a cast iron skillet that we take along with us. As I mentioned before, my husband will sometimes cook it in the can over the fire, but… when we want help from the kids or we have a larger batch to cook, we’ll have them put it in the dutch oven and keep watch over it until it’s good and warm. We also buy a $1 loaf of Italian bread from the bakery and wrap it in foil and put it next to the dutch oven to warm over the fire, as well. It’s so easy to pack in our camping gear and so tasty!

Sandwiches – We always keep lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter, jelly and chips on hand so that we always have a meal available at a moment’s notice. You never know when someone will get hangry. (You know, so hungry that you’re angry. lol). Too much play can make one grumpy fast, if they’re hungry!

Roasted Hot Dogs Over the Fire – This is the one everyone thinks of when it comes to camping. It’s typically something that we do every trip out camping, just for the experience of it. BUT, I often like to dress it up. Since we’re normally camping in our camper, I often bring along some chili, sauerkraut and other hot dog fixings to make a better than plain hot dog.

Pigs in a Blanket – This is another fun way to dress up your hot dogs. Bring along a can of crescent rolls and wrap one around each hot dog and then poke the whole thing with your skewer, so that the dough and the hot dog won’t fall off. Cook until the dough is cooked all the way through. YUM!

Foil Packet Calzones – Bring some refrigerated biscuit dough and some pizza sauce, cheese and any pizza toppings you’d like. Have the kids spread out their dough on a paper plate, put a dab of pizza sauce and whatever toppings they want, then fold over their dough and seal it. Place it in a foil packet and roast it over the fire. You will have to help them get it in and out of the fire, unless they’re older of course, but the rest is in their court!

Foil Packet Meals – You can come up with any variety of meals with foil. We have made potatoes, hobo packets, santa fe chicken packets, lemon chicken and asparagus… and more. The fun thing is, you can let the kids mix and match what they put in their packet to suit their tastes. Don’t forget the seasoning! You can supervise putting them on the grates or in the fire… OR if you don’t want to mess with the fire, you can always just put them in your slow cooker (if you’re in an electric camp site). We typically camp in a camper, so we always have electricity, too, but we like to experience the foods of camping.

S’more Cones – This isn’t exactly a meal, but it’s a very FUN dessert! Put your favorite S’mores toppings in a waffle cone, wrap it in foil and put on the grate over the fire until all the toppings melt together.

Our family of 8, made 3 of the large sized DINTY MOORE® Beef Stew cans for one whole camping dinner and we all had plenty. Of course, we ALMOST licked the pan clean. Almost.

You can Find DINTY MOORE® Beef Stew at your Local Grocery Store

To purchase DINTY MOORE® Beef Stew for your next camping trip, you can find it at your local grocery store. (We found ours in the canned meat aisle.) And if you want some extra rebate savings on the product, click here!

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Thank you so much! As a special needs mommy these recipes have helped us so much. I often am very busy with being a nurse for our child that I don't have time for making sure we get meals. This allows me to do all my prep on the weekends, while my husband is home to help, and to cook during the week. So grateful!

Linda SearsOwner of Freezer to Slow Cooker Menus

Sarah’s Freezer to Slow Cooker ebooks have been a fantastic addition to my meal plans. They make meal planning easy and my family happy. I love the way each recipe is laid out, with a shopping list and ingredient prep list, along with cooking instructions. Sarah’s done all the hard work for me! The recipes have used have all been delicious and easily adaptable to my family’s taste and the number of people I’m serving.

FranOwner of Freezer to Slow Cooker Ebooks

I purchased all of your freezer to slow cooker ebooks a month or so ago and I'm in love with this way of cooking. I now have taken all 10 weeks of recipes and written them of my menu planner and then I repeated the 10 weeks and will continue to do so throughout the year. My family of 5 adults and 1 child enjoy the meals that you have planned and I have cooked and I'm excited that the next time when that meal comes due up in the rotation I won't have to purchase anything but just pull it from the freezer. Thank you so much

A Happy Slow Cooker User

rayzn2angelsfrom Freezer to Slow Cooker Series

This makes my life so much easier. I'm a busy work at home/stay at home mom, wife, business woman and I feel like dinner is always the thing I just never get time to do. We have done like 15 of the crockpot recipes from Sarah and they are all very yummy. They get a thumbs up from my husband and kids every time. And there is always enough for my husband to take the left overs at least 2x per recipe. I have a family of 5, 2 adults, 21, 13, 16. So it makes plenty. Thank you Sarah.

Dawn S.Buyer of Freezer to Slow Cooker Ebook Series

I am a 59-year-old wife and mother of two grown children. I love your idea of fixing a lot of meals ahead of time and then pulling one out, put it in the crockpot, and you have dinner when you get home. I hate feeling rushed when I cook so Monday - Friday I use those crockpot meals and make enough that we have lunch the next day. I take Sunday afternoon, fix up what I need for the week (I don't have a lot of freezer space so I do a week's worth at a time) and I'm done with it! Saturdays I like to try new recipes from some of my cookbooks which I am finding I can freeze as well! So you have shown me a whole new way to organize my time and still put a healthy meal on the table. Thanks so much and I look forward to future blogs.